Blackhawks brace for long road challenge

Starting with visit with Red Wings, they are away from home for 9 of 10 games with long Olympic hiatus before last one

January 21, 2014|By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter

DETROIT — One glance at the Blackhawks' upcoming schedule reveals the daunting task of playing nine of their next 10 games on the road.

How are the players coping with the promise of a future filled with suitcases, room service and hostile fans?

"Don't look at a schedule," goaltender Corey Crawford said. "It's easy to get ahead of yourself if you do that (and) maybe lose your focus a little bit."

Crawford isn't the only Hawks veteran taking the ignorance-is-bliss tack.

"I haven't even looked at where we're going," winger Kris Versteeg said. "I just know we're going on the road. You try to focus on your next game — you don't try to look too far ahead of that."

In the short-term, the Hawks will kick off the grueling stretch with back-to-back games against the Red Wings and Wild, respectively, beginning at Joe Louis Arena. After coming home to face the Jets on Sunday night, it will be a six-game trip to Western Canada, California and Arizona before pausing for three weeks in mid-February for the Winter Olympics. The first game following the break is a stop at Madison Square Garden for a date with the Rangers.

Considering the Hawks entered Tuesday's play around the league four points behind the Ducks in the Western Conference standings with the Blues and Sharks right on their heels, this is a crucial stretch for the defending Stanley Cup champions. With a sparkling 14-5-4 record — including a league-tying low of five regulation losses — away from home, the Hawks will try to use the confidence they have built on the road this season.

"We can draw experience from that long Circus Trip (in November), going 6-1," winger Ben Smith said. "It's playing strong hockey all the way through four lines and doing what we do best. If we do that, it doesn't really matter where we play."

Added coach Joel Quenneville: "We want to make sure we keep that focus going into the Olympics and the break as well. Playing on the road should help us knowing we're all together. Let's make sure we get something going into it. Make sure we're doing the right things and playing the right way with our minds in the right place."

Facing the Wings should put players on both teams in the right mindset. Though NHL realignment has shifted Detroit to the Eastern Conference so the Original Six combatants will meet only twice per regular season, the rivalry has remained strong since the teams first faced off in 1926.

"That will always be a big rivalry," Hawks defenseman Nick Leddy said. "It's two good teams going head-to-head with the history going back forever."

It also will be the first meeting between the teams since the Hawks roared back from a 3-1 series deficit in the 2013 Western Conference semifinals to win in overtime of Game 7 and go on to their second Cup in four years. The Wings remember the pain of being so close to advancing only to go home empty-handed.

"It took awhile, especially after you see them win," Wings forward Justin Abdelkader told reporters. "That made it even that much harder. But, you know what, you have to move on and you learn from situations like that. It was a good experience for us."

Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters: "Those things are all in the past. We won the Cup here, we've lost in Game 7 here. We've done lots of good things. We won the Presidents' Trophy, we lost in the first round. That's what it's all about. There are highs and lows. Get on with it. We're living right here, right now in the present and none of that stuff matters. (Wednesday) does."